News

What is DICONDE?JetSoft is a proponent of the ASTM proposed Digital Imaging and Communication in Non Destructive Evaluation (DICONDE) standard. DICONDE provides a detailed common format for the way Non-Destructive evaluation data is stored and communicated.

DICONDE is based on the extremely comprehensive and ubiquitously used medical DICOM standard, which has been in use since the 1980s.

Why is it important?DICONDE is important and useful for several key reasons including:

InteroperabilityDICONDE allows different items of equipment to talk to each other, DICONDE removes the need to have duplicate equipment (and knowledge to operate and maintain that equipment) for all the different formats and technologies that you may currently operator.

LegacyIn aerospace, inspection records must be kept for up to 30 years, which means that equipment and methods for opening those inspection records must be maintained for the same period. This can be a major concern if a supplier stops trading or supporting a data format, because DICONDE is an open standard, this concern is removed.

Data flowDICONDE allows the free flow of data to key partners, with the ability to open and view the data without need for common software.

Key supplier relianceDICONDE removes reliance on key suppliers, the data produced and the software to evaluate that data can be easily sourced.

How does OverSeer use DICONDE?JetSoft’s OverSeer software is a DICONDE Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) which accepts and outputs both DICONDE files and communication streams. OverSeer acts as a hub for all NDT data and allows this data to flow seamless around the digitally connected manufacturing environment.

A final warningA key component of DICONDE is its private tags which allow vendors to encode data within the file but outside of the standard. The intention of this is to give flexibility, but it can be abused and can effectively break the standard, remove any benefit and bring back the reliance on that vendor. When working with any partner that claims to support DICONDE ask for their private dictionary, which details all the private tags they use. JetSoft will happily give a copy of their private dictionary on request, and be extremely wary of anyone who will not.